X Concert Review

To celebrate the re-release of their first three CDs by Rhino Records, X played Los Angeles' picturesque El Rey Theatre for two shows last weekend. The El Rey is a spiffy, chandelier filled place to see a concert. The place was packed both nights with repeat customers as this is a band with a loyal fan base that runs the gamut from teens to 40ish types who've followed the band from the Slash days.

The music barrels along, fueled by Billy Zoom's distinctive, lightning fast guitar. Most of the performed songs were from the re-released CDs. including Wild Gift, Los Angeles and Under The Big Black Sun, as well as the underrated More Fun In The New World. The band looks pretty much the same onstage now as they did back in the day; Exene in gingham dress, Billy in leather jacket, bassist John Doe in jeans and thrift store suit jacket. Packed into three minute slices, the songs sound better than ever, kicking off with their lightning fast version of the Doors Soul Kitchen followed by Hungry Wolf. Extra kudos to drummer DJ Bonebrake on this one. The songs flowed one into the other without a hitch - I'm Coming Over, In This House That I Call Home and The Have Nots, an ode to working class bars that the band hasn't performed live for close to twenty years.

X's music has endured because, from the first CD onward, the words were poetry - poignant words that made sense when sung or printed on a lyric sheet, Billy and D.J. were accomplished musicians before joining X. Billy played as a session man for artists such as Gene Vincent and fronted his own band before joining X. D.J. played in a band called the Eyes with future Go-Go Charlotte Caffey. John and Exene had an intelligent bohemian charm,not merely the spit at the crowd exuberance of some oftheir counterparts . Although the band performed no new songs, the old ones hold up just fine

The band has performed several shows along (mainly along the West Coast) since the original lineup reunited in 1998. Unlike some punk bands, their music is not relegated to the decade in which it originated; songs like "Los Angeles" could have been written yesterday. The set ended with seven encores, including a revved-up version of This Land Is Your Land, which John, Exene and DJ performed with the Knitters.

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